Contemporary criticism asserts this is a standard biopic: that's nonsense. The endless temporal shifts, multiple subject perspectives and the flagrant, arguably damaging, use of ellipsis places Lenny firmly outside of genre norms. Moreover, it is an actual character study which is fascinated by the way his self destructive impulses tragically informed his art and led to his early demise. Hoffman is great, but the Bergmanesque docu-drama elements seem contrived and ill fitting.

Dustin is Dustin and Bob Fosse has an incredibly solid resume as a director, but this is still a biopic and is inevitably hurt by a well shot, well acted reenactment of one of Lenny's most famous bits.

Hoffman totally encompasses main man Lenny Bruce, both his on-stage presence and his off-stage battles. It's amazingly inspiring to see this man defend his rights to say "tits", "ass", and "cocksucker" until it took away absolutely everything away from him. If you don't think stand-up comedy is one of the purest forms of art, then you need to see this film.

Fosse's rhythmic directing, Bruce Surtees' rugged but aesthetic cinematography, Hoffman's performance, very good all around. I liked this movie, the character and the messages a little bit better than I ever liked Lenny Bruce's act, somehow.

Bob Fosse's Lenny Bruce biopic feels like the last film of the 60s: the editing and semi-documentary touches all evoke that era, and as a piece of filmmaking, it's arguably more visceral and memorable than Fosse's CABARET. The script is a bit less successful, in that we view Lenny mostly through other people's eyes--an interesting choice that nevertheless distances us from him. But Dustin Hoffman throws himself fully into the role, and Valerie Perrine is fantastic as his self-destructive wife.

An intriguing movie that has some of the most impressive use of sound editing I've ever seen/heard with Fosse masterfully weaving together stand-up monologues and interviews within the storyline. Hoffman is great as Lenny and Valerie Perrine does a good job as his wife. Well worth a watch.

This movie is all about Dustin Hoffman's performance as Lenny Bruce. The movie is really slow at times and takes too much time indulging itself in seemingly needless stuff. Also the detoriation of Bruce goes so fast that we barely get any character development whatsoever. I know it's based on real-life, but still I believe it could have been done better. If you're a fan of Hoffmann or Lenny Bruce, it's worth a watch, but it's not really really that great a movie compared to it's contemporaries.

First, I would submit this as exhibit E proving that Dustin Hoffman is one of the greatest living actors. Second, I would submit this as exhibit HH proving that a great actor can only elevate a film so much.